hammer and tongs

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adverb

with great vigor, determination, or vehemence: When he starts a job he goes at it hammer and tongs.

OTHER WORDS FOR hammer and tongs

hard, energetically, fiercely, wholeheartedly.

See synonyms for hammer and tongs on Thesaurus.com

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of hammer and tongs

First recorded in 1700–10

Words nearby hammer and tongs

hammam, Hammarskjöld, Hammarskjöld, Dag, hammer, hammer and sickle, hammer and tongs, hammer away at, hammerbeam, hammer blow, hammercloth, hammer drill

How to use hammer and tongs in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Later that night, that same black-and-red banner would be seen again—in the column of marchers chanting for dead cops.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The kids are out of school, Mom is out of get-up-and-go, Dad is out of work.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
The noise of the hammer is always in his ears, and his eye is upon the pattern of the vessel he maketh.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
With a hammer the boy knocked off some of the slats of the small box in which Squinty had made his journey.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various

Other Idioms and Phrases with hammer and tongs

hammer and tongs

Forcefully, with great vigor. For example, She went at the weeds hammer and tongs, determined to clean out the long neglected flowerbed. Often put as go at it hammer and tongs, this phrase alludes to the blacksmith's tools. [c. 1700]

hammer and tongs

OTHER WORDS FOR hammer and tongs

Origin of hammer and tongs

Words nearby hammer and tongs

Words related to hammer and tongs

How to use hammer and tongs in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with hammer and tongs